The Demons were told on Saturday Elliott had decided against a move there.

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He toured the Brisbane Lions facilities on Saturday while on a trip to Queensland with a couple of teammates to visit his brother who lives at Airlie Beach.

The Lions were hopeful that Elliott’s brother living nearby might be have been an incentive for him to make the move north.

The Demons believed Elliott was likely to remain at Collingwood and the Magpies had been confident of re-signing the popular forward on new terms. List manager Ned Guy said yesterday morning the Pies had a two-year deal on the table for Elliott.

Sources had said the Lions had offered Elliott a three-year contract.

The contract concern for Collingwood and all clubs is Elliott’s injury profile, for while he played 16 games this year he played none in 2018 and none in 2016. When he is fit he is one of the most exciting small forwards in the game with a high leap and explosive speed and power.

The Magpies meanwhile also had speculative discussions with Gold Coast about a possible trade for the number one draft pick in recent days.

The Magpies sounded out the Suns about what it would take to entice them to trade the number one pick after Suns list manager Craig Cameron offered a never-say-never response when asked last week about the possibility of trading the pick.

While Cameron accepted it was highly unlikely he would entertain a trade he also said it was impossible to rule something out until you know what it is.

In the conversation about pick one Adam Treloar was raised as a player the Suns would be very interested in – Craig Cameron had been at the Giants though not when Treloar was there but was a fan of the quick midfielder.

The Suns were also aware that Treloar's partner was pregnant and her family lived on the Gold Coast so he might be opento a move.

While the Suns, who now have picks one and two in the draft, were interested in Treloar they were still not prepared to budge on pick one believing the possibility of bringing in not just two highly talented players but two players who were good friends and so able to potentially stay at the club together was more important.